Many people missed International Women’s Day – I, myself, would’ve missed it had it not been for the reminder from a friend. International Women’s Day is meant for us to recognize and appreciate all our strong women all over the world – transgender and disabled included. If you’re like the majority who missed participating in appreciating our women yesterday, fear not: you can help the movement by indulging yourself in these feminists artists, whose creations have a purpose and will better help you understand why women’s issues are important. Take a look:

Lady Aiko: Master of Street ArtMost of the graffiti or street art that you see in inner cities is typically male-driven, the same stagnant colors with the same stagnant messages. Lady Aiko, from Tokyo, Japan, produces feminine-driven street art and photography. These amazing works will make you re-think the trite pieces you usually see, and hopefully draw a bigger interest into more feminine works.View Lady Aiko’s site here: http://www.ladyaiko.com/top/

Stephanie Sinclair: Familiarizing Child MarriageThey say familiarity creates empathy – which is exactly what photographer Stephanie Sinclair is after. The talented artists, who recently received the National Geographic Women of Vision Photography award, has spent ten years documenting child marriage. No, we are not typically faced with the issue of child marriage here in the US – but it is still a very real problem in many other countries. Here, we are faced with cases of abuse, harassment and rape, all of which occur in cases of child marriage in other countries. Sinclair highlights the importance of the strength and independence of the young girls who struggle to fend for themselves in these relationships, and in turn, highlights the defiance against traditional gender roles.Watch a video explaining Sinclair’s work and child marriage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYleXcpbzKY

Hannah Price: Spotlighting Cat CallersYoung woman Hannah Price, of African-Mexican-American descent, is a talented photographer who has taken raising awareness about street harassment to the next level. Many women speak on this issue, and publicize what all women are thinking: no, my walk to work is not a runway. I do not want your comments on what I look like. Yes, yelling sexual things to me on the sidewalk is harassment. Price uses the harassment she receives to make her art when she turns her camera to those who yell at her. The photos she produces shows just how ignorant and oblivious many of the men are to their wrong doings.Hannah explains her project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK4b-mfeDq0

Shahria Sharmin: Photographing Bangladesh’s Third GenderSimilar to the issues we face regarding the rights of transgender and transsexual people in the US, this Bangladeshi photographer grew up in a society that believed Hijras, (individuals who were born into the male sex but adopted female gender roles), were “less than human”. Sharmin uses her talent in photography to show the humanity in “the third gender” through a black and white series entitled, “Call Me Heena”, similar to iO Tillet’s “We Are You” project, aiming to break society’s prejudices. Her work is beautiful and telling.View her website here: http://www.shahriasharmin.com/